Drunken driving arrests at end the year on Staten Island

Police made three drunken driving arrests last night and early this morning, including an Elm Park man who police say drove so dangerously that another driver swerved into a pole trying to avoid him.

Alvin A. Bennett, 57, of the 200 block of Trantor Place, left a swath of wreckage behind as he drove a red 2008 Cadillac along Catherine Street and Decker Avenue in Port Richmond just before midnight, authorities allege.

First, a car on Decker swerved into a pole trying to avoid him and the driver suffered whiplash and cuts in the crash, a law enforcement source said. Then, Bennett smashed into a car parked into a driveway, drove through a fence and crashed into a tree, according to the source .

When police arrived, Bennett was wandering around his totaled car, reeking of booze and acting belligerent, authorities allege. He refused to take a blood alcohol test and tried to kick out the window of a patrol car, the source said.

Bennet was arrested early this morning and charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief, operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and operating a motor vehicle while impaired.

In separate incidents yesterday, police arrested Richard T. Collett, 62, of Uxbridge Street in Willowbrook, and Christopher St. John, 53, of Margaret Street in Great Kills.